The school funding bill that became law in September after a tumultuous time in the state's General Assembly is working out to be a good thing, a Fenwick High School official told West Cook News recently.
"Though there are still many unanswered questions about the Illinois tax credit scholarship program – including which entities will ultimately be approved as SGOs (scholarship granting organizations), how grants will eventually be apportioned vis-à-vis the focus districts defined in the legislation, and how operational and effective the actual mechanics of the program will be on January 1, 2018 – along with the Archdiocese of Chicago, Fenwick believes the legislation is a good thing for private schools," Chris Ritten, vice president of Fenwick High School Institutional Advancement, said. "There will certainly be some kinks the first year, but as the process becomes more established and well-understood, years two through five of the program are bound to go more smoothly."
Senate Bill 1947 passed the General Assembly on Aug. 29 and was signed into law a couple of days later by Gov. Bruce Rauner. That came after the initial vote failed, an override of the orginal school funding bill was shot down, and SB1947 was brought up for a second vote.
Chris Ritten
The remaining questions are high on the minds of folks at Fenwick, Ritten said.
"Fenwick has well over 100 families who can potentially benefit from receiving grants through SGOs, and we have fielded questions from several potential benefactors," he said.
Whether those grants will be forthcoming will depend on more information down the line, Ritten said.
"Until some of the above questions are more well-defined, we have not offered any specific suggestions to our students and families or benefactors but expect to do so in the coming weeks," he said.
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